Hamilton on pole for Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton has taken pole for the Canadian Grand Prix ahead of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg.

It’s the fourth time that the reigning Formula One champion will start at the front of the grid on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Hamilton posted the fastest qualifying lap of 1 minute, 14.393 seconds Saturday over the 2.71-mile (4.361-km) course on Montreal’s Ile Notre-Dame.

Feature: The making of Lewis Hamilton

Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen was third. Valtteri Bottas of Williams was fourth, and Romain Grosjean of Lotus was fifth.

It’s the 44th pole of Hamilton’s career and his sixth in seven races this season. He leads the championship standings by 10 points over Rosberg.

The big surprise in qualifying was the failure of four-time F1 champion Sebastien Vettel to make it out of the first session.

Vettel came out just minutes before the end of the 20-minute period and had only two laps at full speed, the best still 1.5 seconds slower than session-leader Romain Grosjean.

Joining Vettel in the pits for the remainder of qualifying was Felipe Massa, who complained of a loss of power.

Jenson Button did not take part after parking his car alongside the track in the final practice session because of a loss of engine power.

Rookie Max Verstappen, who was given a five-position penalty for causing a crash in Monaco, also took a 10-position penalty for using his fifth engine of the season.

That means not only does he start at the back of the pack, but he will have a 10-second stop-and-go penalty during the race.

Starting grid (Top-10):

1. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg (Germany) Mercedes
3. Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Ferrari
4. Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Williams-Mercedes
5. Romain Grosjean (France) Lotus – Mercedes
6. Pastor Maldonado (Venezuela) Lotus – Mercedes
7. Nico Huelkenberg (Germany) Force India – Mercedes
8. Daniil Kvyat (Russia) RedBull – Renault
9. Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) RedBull – Renault
10. Sergio Perez (Mexico) Force India – Mercedes